What Is Poetry

What Is Poetry?

Poetry is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a scene or tells a

story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of words. Poems can be
structured, with rhyming lines and meter, the rhythm and emphasis of a line
based on syllabic beats. Poems can also be freeform, which follows no formal
structure.
The basic building block of a poem is a verse known as a stanza. A stanza is a

grouping of lines related to the same thought or topic, similar to a paragraph in
prose. A stanza can be subdivided based on the number of lines it contains.
For example, a couplet is a stanza with two lines.
Types of Poetry
There are three types of poetry i.e., lyric poetry, narrative poetry, and Dramatic
Poetry.
i. Lyric Poetry
Alyric poem is a comparatively short, non-narrative poem in which a single

speaker presents a state of mind or an emotional state.
1. Elegy: Elegy is a formal lament for the death of a particular person (for
example Tennyson’s In Memoriam A.H.H.). More broadly defined, the term
elegy is also used for solemn meditations, often on questions of death,
such as Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.
2. Ode: Anode is a long lyric poem with a serious subject written in an

elevated style. Famous examples are Wordsworth’s Hymn to Duty or
Keats’ Ode to a Grecian Urn.
3. Sonnet: Thesonnet was originally a love poem which dealt with the
lover’s sufferings and hopes. But it has also been used for other topics
than love, for instance for religious experience (by Donne and Milton),
reflections on art (by Keats or Shelley) or even the war experience (by
Brooke or Owen). The sonnet uses a single stanza of (usually) fourteen
lines and an intricate rhyme pattern.
4. Dramatic Monologue:In a dramatic monologue a speaker, who is

explicitly someone other than the author, makes a speech to a silent
auditor in a specific situation and at a critical moment. Without
intending to do so, the speaker reveals aspects of his temperament and
character. Browning's My Last Duchessis an example.
ii. Narrative Poetry
Narrative poetry gives a verbal representation, in verse, of a sequence of

connected events. Narrative poems might tell of a love story (like Tennyson's
Maud), or the deeds of a hero (like Walter Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel).Sub-
categories of narrative poetry:
1. Epics: Itusually operate on a large scale, both in length and topic, such
asthe beginning of world history (Milton's Paradise Lost), they tend to use
an elevated style of language and supernatural beings take part in the
action.
2. Mock-epic:Themock-epic makes use of epic conventions, like the

elevated style and the assumption that the topic is of great importance,
to deal with completely insignificant occurrences. A famous example is
Pope's The Rape of the Lock, which tells the story of a young beauty
whose suitor secretly cuts off a lock of her hair.
3. Ballad:Aballad is a song, originally transmitted orally, which tells a story.
iii. Dramatic Poetry
Dramatic poetry is written in verse and is usually meant to be recited. It tells a story
or describes an event in a dramatic and interesting way. Poets of note include:
• Shakespeare
• Ben Jonson
• Christopher Marlowe
• Rudyard Kipling
What is drama?
Drama is a type of literature telling a story, which is intended to be performed
to an audience on the stage. While drama is the printed text of a play, the word
theatre often refers to the actual production of the text on the stage. Theatre
thus involves action taking place on the stage, the lighting, the scenery, the
accompanying music, the dresses, the atmosphere, and so on.
Types of Drama
Primarily it is divided into two types:comedyandtragedy.
i. Comedy: A comedy typically aims at entertaining the audience and

making it laugh by reassuring them that no disaster will occur, and
that the outcome of possible conflicts will be positive for the
characters involved.
Types of Comedy: Types of Comedy are as follows:
1. Romantic Comedy
A pair of lovers and their struggle to come together is usually at the centre of
this type of comedy. Romantic comedies also involve some extraordinary
circumstances, e.g., magic, dreams, the fairy-world, etc. Example is
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
2. Satiric Comedy
This type of comedy has a critical purpose. It usually attacks philosophical

notions or political practices as well as general deviations from social norms by
ridiculing characters. Ben Jonson’s Volpone is an example.
3. Comedy of Manners
The comedy of manners is also satirical in its outlook and it takes the artificial
and sophisticated behavior of the higher social classes under closer scrutiny.
William Congreve’s comedies are examples.
4. Farce
The farce typically provokes viewers to hearty laughter. It presents highly

exaggerated and caricatured types of characters and often has an unlikely plot.
Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is an example.
5. Comedy of Humours
In the comedy of humours, characters are marked by one of these

predispositions which cause their distorted personality. An example is Ben
Jonson’s Every Man in His Humour.
ii. Tragedy:
A tragedy tries to raise the audience’s concern, to confront viewers with serious
action and conflicts, which typically end in a catastrophe (usually involving the
death of the protagonist and possibly others).
Types of Tragedy: Tragedy can be divided into the following types:
1. Senecan Tragedy
The pioneer of tragic drama was the Roman poet Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD). His
tragedies were recited rather than staged but they became a model for English
playwrights entailing the five-act structure, a complex plot and an elevated
style of dialogue.
2. Revenge Tragedy
This type of tragedy represented a popular genre in the Elizabethan Age and
made extensive use of murder, revenge, mutilations and ghosts. Typical
examples of this sub-genre are Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta,
3. Domestic/Bourgeois Tragedy
The protagonist typically suffers a domestic disaster which is intended to

arouse empathy rather than pity and fear in the audience. An example is
Arthur Miller’s The Death of a Salesman (1949)
4. Tragicomedy
Tragicomedies, as the name suggests, intermingle conventions concerning plot,

character and subject matter derived from both tragedy and comedy. Thus,
characters of both high and low social rank can be mixed as in Shakespeare’s
The Merchant of Venice (1600)

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What Is Poetry?

Poetry is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a scene or tells a

The basic building block of a poem is a verse known as a stanza. A stanza is a

Alyric poem is a comparatively short, non-narrative poem in which a single

2. Ode: Anode is a long lyric poem with a serious subject written in an

4. Dramatic Monologue:In a dramatic monologue a speaker, who is

Narrative poetry gives a verbal representation, in verse, of a sequence of

2. Mock-epic:Themock-epic makes use of epic conventions, like the

3. Ballad:Aballad is a song, originally transmitted orally, which tells a story.

iii. Dramatic Poetry

Primarily it is divided into two types:comedyandtragedy.

i. Comedy: A comedy typically aims at entertaining the audience and

Types of Comedy: Types of Comedy are as follows:

This type of comedy has a critical purpose. It usually attacks philosophical

The farce typically provokes viewers to hearty laughter. It presents highly

In the comedy of humours, characters are marked by one of these

Types of Tragedy: Tragedy can be divided into the following types:

The protagonist typically suffers a domestic disaster which is intended to

Tragicomedies, as the name suggests, intermingle conventions concerning plot,

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